Rocket Academy gets $700K grant

Cedar Grove-Belgium School District’s Rocket Academy, a newly formed charter school focusing on technical education and skilled trades, has received an implementation subgrant from the U.S. Department of Education via the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The Rocket Academy is getting $700,000 as part of the $11.4 million first round of a five-year federal grant competition, according to a DPI press release.

Rocket Academy Director David Friend said he knows what the money will be used for.

“We intend to purchase high-tech industry equipment and pay for training and transportation with these funds,” he said.

Twelve grants ranging from $600,000 to $1.5 million were awarded in the first round of funding. The other local school receiving a grant was Northern Ozaukee School District’s Sugar Maple Nature School, which is getting $1 million for expansion.

The five-year grant program provides $58 million in federal money to Wisconsin charter schools and was announced last October. It is the state’s seventh federal grant for charter schools, according to the release.

The grant will help support as many as 42 expanded and replicated public charter schools and 40 existing charter schools.

Nearly 50,000 students attended 239 public charter schools during the 2022-23 year.

Applications for the second round of grants open in fall.

The Rocket Academy just completed its first year with eight students. They combined to earn seven technical certificates in precision machining from Lakeshore Technical College, 95 technical college credits in precision machining, saving $19,000 in tuition, 66 precision measuring credentials from Starrett through NC3 (National Coalition of Certification Centers) testing and five basic operator credentials from the Haas Certification Program.

The Rocket Academy started meeting in the high school, at LTC and area companies. A new building in Belgium is under construction and slated to open this fall.